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PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
Four weeks later, military still waiting on post-vaccine guidance. A month after the Defense Department canceled the requirement that service members are vaccinated against COVID-19, the Pentagon's personnel and readiness office has yet to complete the requested paperwork to make the change a reality for thousands of unvaccinated troops in limbo.
POLITICS AND DEFENSE BUDGET
Republicans aim at Pentagon civilian workforce to curb spending. Republican defense hawks, who had previously argued for an annual 3% to 5% defense budget increase over inflation, are now taking a serious look at how to squeeze savings out of the Defense Department alongside outside conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation.
REAL REASON – CHALLENGING MITCH McConnell – Hawley kicked off Armed Services Committee for blocking Pentagon nominees, sources say. Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was booted from his perch on the powerful Armed Services Committee last month as retribution for delaying the confirmation of numerous Defense Department nominees last year, and for his role in challenging Mitch McConnell's hold as the chamber's top Republican, sources said.
NATIONAL SECURITY
BUT BIDEN ISN'T – Army Pacific general to aggressors: we're battle ready in Asia. American forces and their allies in Asia are ready for battle after years of joint combat exercises, a United States general said Wednesday, adding that Russia's setbacks in Ukraine should serve as a warning to potential Asian aggressors like China and North Korea.
Trump's last defense secretary takes on the failing ‘American war machine.' In an interview with The Hill, Chris Miller said there is a pressing need for accountability in the upper ranks of the Pentagon and with military leadership for the failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
HOMELAND SECURITY
USS Carter Hall heading back to Virginia as rough seas anticipated in Chinese spy balloon search. The amphibious warship that has served as the nerve center for the recovery of the remains of a Chinese spy balloon is headed back to port to drop off what divers have recovered, a defense official confirmed.
TEXAS DEFENDS BORDER ALONE – Operation Lone Star border mission needs $460 million to stay afloat. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's border security mission is the biggest deployment of Texas National Guard members to the border in size and duration.
CHINA THREAT
Pentagon declines to comment on reports that Chinese surveillance balloon flew over Coronado. Media outlets cited unnamed U.S. officials who said a spy balloon flew over Coronado on an unspecified date.
Chinese balloon wasn't downed over Alaska due to ‘dangerous' recovery. A senior Pentagon official on Thursday tried to justify the military's decision not to shoot down a Chinese balloon as soon as it entered Alaskan airspace by highlighting the dangers doing so would have posed to the recovery and examination of its surveillance equipment.
US declassifies balloon intelligence, calls out China for spying. The U.S. declassified details about the Chinese craft to expose what it says is a sophisticated effort to surveil “more than 40 countries across five continents.”
Coast Guard looks at more ships, innovative patrols to ramp up Pacific presence. Biden administration wants the Coast Guard to expand its footprint amid competition with China.
China gears up to shoot down US drones. Its military-industrial complex is already working on a list of technologies needed to fight off swarms of UAS.
UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine says two Russian missiles crossed into Romania and Moldova. Two Russian missiles crossed into Romanian and Moldovan airspace before entering Ukraine on Friday, the top Ukrainian general said.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 352. An air-raid alert was declared in all of Ukraine on Friday as officials warned of potential Russian missile attacks, urging residents to take shelter. “There is a big threat of a missile attack. I want to stress again – do not ignore the air alert sirens,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.
Ukraine's rocket campaign reliant on US precision targeting, officials say. Ukrainian officials say that they almost never launch HIMARS rounds without precise coordinates provided by U.S. military personnel, revealing a more operationally active role for the Pentagon in the war than previously known.
UK training for Ukrainian fighter pilots meant for ‘post-war,' but that could change: Minister. England's new offer to train Ukrainian fighter pilots may have whetted the appetite in Kyiv for a potential transfer of Western fighter jets, but a senior UK official said it was really about Ukraine's “post-war” military — while also acknowledging having pilots familiar with Western fighters would be beneficial if the NATO nations begin supplying aircraft.
Pentagon looks to restart top-secret programs in Ukraine. The Pentagon is urging Congress to resume funding a pair of top-secret programs in Ukraine suspended ahead of Russia's invasion last year, according to current and former U.S. officials. If approved, the move would allow American Special Operations troops to employ Ukrainian operatives to observe Russian military movements and counter disinformation.
NORTH KOREA THREAT
See North Korea display its latest, largest nuclear missiles. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his young daughter took center stage at a huge military parade, fueling speculation she's being primed as a future leader as her father showed off his latest, largest nuclear missiles.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, ASIA, LATIN AMERICA
US, French troops hold NATO military drills in Romania. U.S. and French troops who are in Romania as part of a NATO battlegroup held a military exercise to test the alliance's eastern flank defenses.
NO IT DOESN'T – EUROPE DOES – US military needs more might in Europe but nowhere near Cold War levels, report says. The Pentagon will need a basing strategy that thickens defenses in central and Eastern Europe without overextending them, given the larger long-term threat posed by China, according to a new policy analysis.
Japan to replace attack, observation helicopters with drone fleet. Japan has indicated it will give up its “obsolete” attack and observation helicopters in favor of unmanned systems, according to its defense buildup plans.
SPACE THREAT
SpaceX admits blocking Ukrainian troops from using satellite technology. The president of SpaceX revealed the company has taken active steps to prevent Ukrainian forces from using the critical Starlink satellite technology with Ukrainian drones that are a key component of their fight against Russia.
Space Force seeks ideas for potential ‘commercial space reserve' fleet. The Space Force today is meeting with officials from other government agencies, and on Friday with industry, to discuss how the Defense Department might build a Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve — a space parallel to the existing air and maritime civil reserve fleets that can be called up by the government in times of crisis or conflict to support military missions.
US MILITARY, ROBOTICS AND AI
US Army's new Middle East tech task force seeks insights into gear and gadgetry. The U.S. military's newest tech unit in the Middle East has aspirations for robots and artificial intelligence, but first it wants to check out the gear soldiers use now.
Here's why the Marine Corps strapped a rare electronic warfare Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) to the deck of a warship. The Marine Corps is flexing its electronic warfare muscles.
Small drones launched from ‘wherever' excel in US Army experiment. The U.S. Army simultaneously tested drones that are catapulted in midair or flung from the ground during its most recent Project Convergence networking experiment, blurring the line between what have been distinct domains.
PENTAGON'S KILLER ROBOTS – DoD's clarified AI policy flashes ‘green light' for robotic weapons: Experts. The revised DoD Directive 3000.09 refines an obscure review process, adding broad AI ethics principles but still not actually forbidding development or deployment of would-be killer robots.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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China is pretty much pulling the same crap the Japs did just before WW2 started. We weren’t prepared then and we’re not prepared now. When China hits us it’ll no doubt be a sea war and according to the last report I saw, our Navy is one third or less than it should be. The Marine Corps is also having problems and the Army is complaining about not getting the recruits it needs. Also, I watched a retired Air Force general tell that the Air Force is terribly lacking in appropriations. All one has to do is look back to the last century to know who thoroughly screws things up. WW1, we fielded a poorly trained and equipped Army. It had three things going for it. The 1903 Springfield, the 1911 Colt and a bunch of country boys who knew how to use them. Democrat administration. WW2, we knew Japan was going to attack but didn’t know when or where. Our fleet was not prepared, as it should have been. Democrat administration. Korea, our troops were armed with obsolete equipment and not in place when North Lorea attacked. Democrat administration. We all know what a fiasco Viet Nam was. A lot of Americans were robbed of their lives for no real reason. A Democrat president caused that. First gulf war. The president told the Pentagon what he wanted, got out of the way and let the military do it’s job instead of playing general. It was over in a matter of hours and casualties could be counted on one’s fingers. Then came the Democrats and screwed everything up. I rest my case.
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